DEP to take questions about Allentown incinerator

ALLENTOWN (AP) ó Pennsylvania state officials will hold a public meeting to answer questions about a proposed waste-to-energy incinerator in Allentown that a citizenís group tried unsuccessfully to target with strict air pollution requirements.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said it will host the meeting Wednesday at Louis E. Dieruff High School, the Express Times of Easton reported.

The meeting will focus on Delta Thermo Energy Inc.ís permit applications to take municipal waste and sludge from Allentownís wastewater treatment plant as fuel to generate electricity.

Delta Thermo Energy would then use and sell the electricity. The $49 million plant is supposed to be capable of processing 120 tons per day of municipal solid waste and 47 tons per day of sewage sludge, according to state officials.

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A representative of Delta Thermo will attend the meeting, the Express Times reported.

Allentown City Council approved a 35-year contract with the company in March 2012 as part of its plan to build the facility. At the time, critics said the contract with Delta Thermo was too long and that the facilityís proposed technology was untested.

The citizenís group gathered 2,175 signatures in an attempt to ask voters in the Nov. 5 election to impose strict around-the-clock emissions monitoring and regulations on the plant.

But the Lehigh County Board of Elections rejected the ballot question, saying it conflicted with state law. A county and state court both upheld the decision.